Council approves airport design amendment to align plans with expanded concept

The Abilene City Council voted to approve a task-order amendment to advance airport design work so the deliverables match the expanded concept that emerged during recent charrettes.

Don Green, Director of Transportation Services, told the council that notes in the packet contained carryovers from an earlier task order and that additional topography and lidar work required because of an expanded scope produced by the charrettes had increased one consultant line item by about $29,000. Green said the amendment is intended to provide full design for features shown in the concept renderings presented earlier to council.

Council members pressed staff for clarity on cost and scope. Councilman Reagan asked whether the amendment meant the city would exceed the budget voters approved; Green said the $70,000,000 project budget is based on the concept the amended task order will design for. Reagan also referenced an amendment figure discussed in the meeting context of roughly $1,400,000 for additional design work; Green described specific line-item changes (e.g., topography) and said staff will correct packet notes that were carryovers.

Tammy Fogel, a resident and public commenter, praised Green’s memo as thorough and said it clarified funding sources and budget responsibilities; she also noted that one commenter’s calculations showed the city’s share of a large grant package would be about 5 percent while most funding would come from grants.

Councilman Yates moved approval; Council member Price seconded. The council recorded unanimous roll-call votes in favor and the motion carried.

Ending: Staff told council it will post corrected, updated documentation for public review on the ABI Next Great project website.